Małopolska province struggles with very poor air quality, particularly during the winter season. Along with Silesia and nearby regions of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, it is one of the most polluted regions in the EU. Concentrations of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and benzo(a)pyrene are exceedingly high throughout the whole region. The major source of air pollution in Małopolska is low-stack emission (combustion of solid fuels in obsolete household boilers). This source is responsible for 72% of PM10, 73% of PM2.5 and 86% of benzo(a)pyrene concentrations. The Małopolska Air Quality Plan (MAQP) requires the elimination of obsolete solid fuel boilers in approximately 155 000 homes. There is also significant untapped potential for emission reductions through energy efficiency improvement of buildings (around 70% of houses are insufficiently insulated or not insulated at all).

At the national level, the Anti-Smog Law passed in October 2015 allows local governments to adopt their own local air quality regulations, and set parameters for the stoves allowed to be used in particular areas and for the fuels used (including coal).
The fundamental barrier at the local level hindering the effective implementation of the MAQP is a lack of human resources, organisational capacities and necessary know-how within municipal authorities (gmina). Another significant local barrier is low awareness of the air pollution problem among the public, local decision-makers and administrators. Low quality, low implementation rate and poor integration between different local planning documents (e.g. energy supply plans, low carbon plans, low-stack emission abatement plans, and sustainable energy action plans) constitute another barrier to be addressed.

Barriers at the regional level preventing effective implementation of the MAQP include insufficient financial resources dedicated to the elimination of low-stack emissions in individual houses and for energy-efficiency improvements in buildings. However, in the new financial perspective of 2014-2020, the Małopolska region will use European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) resources to help finance local low-stack emission abatement programmes (€100 million). The regional programme will be managed by the Marshal’s Office (responsible also for implementation the MAQP). Air protection tasks will also be financed from the national and regional funds for environmental protection, and the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment 2014-2020.

Air quality modelling in the hotspot region of southern Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia requires collaboration and the establishment of common air quality modeling platforms, so that all the authorities implementing air quality plans use homogenous input data. The hotspot region is still lacking a comprehensive high-resolution regional trans-boundary air emission inventory, as well as the competence and tools to analyse various air quality scenarios and establish low-emission zones and smoke control areas.

Objectives

The main LIFE-IP MAŁOPOLSKA project objective is the full implementation of the Małopolska Air Quality Plan (MAQP) adopted by the regional parliament in September 2013. Most LIFE IP activities will focus on the territory of Małopolska province. However, the project approach and results will be directly relevant to all authorities responsible for air quality in the entire air quality hotspot region (southern Poland, northern Czech Republic and Slovakia).

Specific project objectives include:

The elimination of the barriers created by very low institutional capacities and insufficient implementation of air quality actions at the municipal level by establishing a network of eco-managers;

Increasing involvement of municipal authorities from Małopolska in MAQP implementation and subsequent updates of MAQP (starting in 2016);

Increasing recognition of the significance of air quality management by local decision makers in Małopolska and in other regions;

The elimination of the barriers created by low awareness of air quality improvement needs through public education campaigns in the Małopolska region;

Building behavioural responses by encouraging inhabitants of the Małopolska region to apply for financial schemes (e.g. grants, soft loans) for the replacement of obsolete solid fuel boilers and thermal retrofitting of houses;

The elimination of the barriers created by weak integration of municipal-level planning in the area of energy management and air quality;

Increasing the know-how and competences of all local authorities in Małopolska and in other regions;

Tightening cooperation within the hotspot (southern Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) by joint activities in emission inventorying and modelling as well as exchange of experiences in the area of air quality improvement; and

Effective implementation of a low-stack emission abatement programme in Kraków, the first Polish municipality that has introduced a solid fuel ban in the household heating sector.

In addition to the IP budget itself, the project will facilitate the coordinated use of €798 million complementary funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the ERDF, National and Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, and national and private fund, as applicable.

Województwo Małopolskie (WM) is an administrative province located in southern Poland, with Kraków as the capital city. It covers an area of 15 182 km² and has a population of 3.4 million people. The executive body of the WM is the management board represented by the Marshal (Major) and operated by the Marshal’s Office.